Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) Group company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. (MTH), has expanded production at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-Mahajak Air Conditioners Co., Ltd. (MACO), its joint venture company in Thailand to manufacture and sell residential and commercial use air conditioning systems. Facilities at the two existing factories have been expanded and upgraded, and construction completed and production begun at a new third factory and electrical assembly works. The aim of the capacity expansion is to further develop MACO to be a central production facility to meet growing demand worldwide for residential and facommercial air conditioners, especially in Asia.

A completion ceremony was held at the factory site on February 7, attended from MHI by Kazuaki Kimura, Senior Executive Vice President, President and CEO of Industry & Infrastructure business domain, from MTH by Senior Executive Vice President Kimiharu Takeda, and from the Mahajak Group, the local partner in MACO, Chairman Chavalit Kanchanachayphoom. MACO President Masahiko Sasakura. These guests and other officers cut the ribbon to open the new facilities.

A completion ceremony was held at the factory site on February 7. MACO President Masahiko Sasakura was accompanied by guests from MHI by Kazuaki Kimura, Senior Executive Vice President, President and CEO of Industry & Infrastructure business domain, from MTH by Senior Executive Vice President Kimiharu Takeda, and from the Mahajak Group, the local partner in MACO, Chairman Chavalit Kanchanachayphoom to cut the ribbon to announce the open of the new facilities.

MACO was established in 1988, and has production facilities in the Ladkrabang Industrial Estate in the suburbs of Bangkok. Total investment for the production expansion was approximately Yen3.0 billion. Of the two newly-built facilities, the third factory will manufacture plastic and sheet metal parts for residential and commercial air conditioners, while the electrical assembly works will mount the electric parts on the electrical boards, which is one of the key components of air conditioners.

The increase in production capacity is expected to boost production volume to 2.7 million pieces by fiscal 2020, a 30% increase compared to fiscal 2015. It will also enhance productivity through changes in facilities and production methods, and synchronization of assembly, as well as strengthen cost competitiveness and reduce inventories of work in process and finished products.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems focuses on establishing an optimal production structure, such as this investment to expand production and enhance efficiency at MACO, in order to secure a competitive advantage in world markets. At the same time, as a specialist heating and cooling company, it is dedicated to developing highly competitive products that make everyday lives better for people, offering innovative thermal solutions, and contributing to the conservation of the global environment.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world's leading industrial firms with 80,000 group employees and annual consolidated revenues of around 38 billion U.S. dollars. For more than 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI owns a unique business portfolio covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI delivers innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense and space systems.